KAALtv.com

Shipyard Christens Submarine Minnesota

Ellen Roughead, a Minnesota native and wife of former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, broke a bottle of American sparkling wine across the hull to christen the Virginia-class submarine Saturday.

Construction of the vessel began in February 2008 and is 88 percent complete. The company says as many as 1,000 shipbuilders worked on the Minnesota.

Among those attending the ceremony were U.S. Reps. Betty McCollum and Chip Cravaack of Minnesota, four members of Virginia's congressional delegation and numerous Navy dignitaries.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)